Harris, a junior from Livingston, has played cornerback the past two seasons, often superbly. Opponents noted his speed on a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown against Stephen F. Austin, a punt returned 54 yards for a touchdown against Louisiana Tech, and an 83-yard interception return at Kansas.

But the Aggies have a handful of talented cornerbacks - beginning with starters Coryell Judie and Terrence Frederick - and Harris' exceptional speed was likely going to be sidelined more than what made Sherman comfortable.

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"Having been a defensive back, he knows how to get off the line of scrimmage pretty good, and he's got good technique on his release," Sherman said. "And he really runs crisp, sharp routes."

Harris played quarterback and defensive back at Livingston High, excelling at both and earning District 20-4A Most Valuable Player honors as a senior.

"I love it," Harris said of playing both ways. "I did in high school, and to get to do it again is a blessing."

So has he shaken some rust in running routes?

"Nah, I've played offense since I was little," he said, grinning. "I'm not cocky, but it's been with me all my life. It took me about two or three plays to get back into it."

The eighth-ranked Aggies don't exactly need him at receiver, because defensive back and receiver are two of the deepest units on the team. But as Sherman has stressed, Harris needs to be on the field somewhere. He started 10 games as a true freshman two years ago, while the junior-college transfer Judie red-shirted with an injury. A year ago, Harris played in all 13 games but started only three in place of a banged-up Judie, who emerged as one of the Big 12's best corners.

A 'natural athlete'

"Dustin just has a tremendous burst off the ball," Sherman said, in making a case for his receiving skills. "I had wanted to take a look at him (on offense), we have, and I like what I see. This isn't indicative of what he was doing on defense, as much as he's a player who could possibly do both things for us.

"We're going to use him."

There's an old joke that defensive backs are merely receivers who can't catch, but Terrell said that doesn't hold water with Harris, who's also returned 24 punts over the past two seasons.

"He's a great natural athlete who can play either corner or receiver - he can do it all," Terrell said. "He has great ball skills, so this isn't much of a transition for him. Dustin has proven that (joke) wrong."

The Aggies, who own their highest preseason ranking since 1999, open their season in a little more than a week - on Sept. 4 at home against SMU - and in the meantime Harris will stay conditioned for play on both sides of the ball. Why? Stopwatches don't lie.